Reducing Dental Health Costs

For Those In Need

February 2011
Having healthy teeth shouldn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

As Premier of NSW, I am committed to improving oral health services for low income
families and other disadvantaged people.

We want to provide fairness for families and this means more affordable dental services to
help with rising costs of living.

The NSW Government has increased funding for dental health to a record $169.4 million
in 2010/11 – an increase of nearly $50 million since 2005/06.

We know that if good oral habits are established early in life it will help prevent oral
disease later on. Therefore in NSW we have invested heavily in early intervention and
prevention approaches to oral health care, particularly for children.

Oral health will become an increasingly important part of our health system, particularly
with population growth and ageing over the next two decades.

Labor has always been committed to helping those most in need, and that is why we will
further expand dental health services in the next four years.

To assist pensioners and give NSW families a fair go, we will introduce new measures to
improve access to dental care in both the public and private health system.

To reduce dental costs and improve access to oral health care for those in need, a re-
elected Keneally Labor Government will invest new funds of $12.5 million and continue our
existing programs to help make dental healthcare more affordable for those in need. We
will:

 Provide 10,000 extra dental vouchers over 4 years for

eligible people to receive dental care through their
local dental provider;

 Expand the Pensioner Denture Scheme;

 Expand Children’s Dental Health Services;

 Provide new dental chairs and equipment;

 Continue existing programs to promote good oral

health.

These fully costed plans will build on my determination to

provide fairness to families and reduce the cost of living
in NSW.
Our approach to dental health

The Keneally Labor Government recognises that good oral health is fundamental to good
overall health and well-being.

As a Government, we are committed to improving equity and access to oral health

services in NSW, and at the same time improving the quality and effectiveness of oral
health care in throughout the State.

The NSW Government has demonstrated an ongoing funding commitment to public oral
health services, with significant new funding allocated to improve and expand the public
sector dental workforce and for major public oral health infrastructure improvements. The
total oral health budget in NSW stands at $169.4 million this year.

One of Labor’s great successes to improve oral health has been the fluoridation of water
program. Evidence both here and overseas shows that up to 50 % of dental decay
experience in children and adolescents can be prevented by water fluoridation. One of the
greatest benefits of water fluoridation is that it crosses social and economic barriers,
improves equity in oral health outcomes and reduces the need for both general
anaesthetics for children and for treatment of dental disease in children. We are close to
completing our $17 million program to fluoridate water supplies.

The Government places priority on improving access to oral health services for older
people families on lower incomes and Aboriginal people.

We want to make sure people do not neglect their oral health because they are struggling
with rising costs of living.

Our dental health initiatives will improve the way we provide dental services in our public
system and work more effectively with the private dental sector so that services are more
available and affordable for those in our community who are most in need.

NSW Labor | Reducing Dental Health Costs For Those In Need | February 2011 2
 Policy
Our Dental Health Policy

improve access
To reduce dental costs and improve access to
to oral
oral health
health care
care for
for those
those in
in
Government will
need, a re-elected Keneally Labor Government will invest
invest new
new funds
funds of of $12.5
$12.5
million over the next four years to:

vouchers over
9 Provide 10,000 extra dental vouchers
 over 44 years
years for
for eligible
eligible people
people to
to
local dental
receive services through their local dental provider.
provider. This
This $4
$4 million
million
need to
investment will help those in need to receive
receive dental
dental care
care from
from private
private
fillings and
dentists for procedures such as fillings and extractions.
extractions.

equipment with
9 Provide new dental chairs and equipment
 with aa new
new $2.5
$2.5 million
million public
public
dental infrastructure package – thisthis will
will enable
enable an an additional
additional 4,400
4,400
additional patient courses of care to to be
be provided
provided each
each year;
 Expand the Pensioner Denture Scheme with an additional $5 million in
Expand –the
9 funding Pensioner
this Denture
will reduce waitingScheme
times withwithananadditional
additional $5 million in
5,000
funding –for
dentures thispensioners
will reduceacross
waitingNSWtimes with2 an
over additional
years; and 5000 dentures
for pensioners across NSW over 2 years; and
 Improve dental health services for children with $1 million in new
Improvefor
9 funding dental
500 health services
additional general children with
foraesthetic $1 million
procedures in new
over 4 years at
funding
the for 500Centre
Westmead additional general
for Oral Heath,aesthetic
Sydney procedures over 4and
Dental Hospital years at
other
the Westmead
regional Centre for Oral Heath, Sydney Dental Hospital and other
centres.
regional centres.

NSW Labor | Reducing Dental Health Costs For Those In Need | February 2011 3
Labor’s Plans for Dental Health

Expansion of the Pensioner Denture Scheme

 An additional $5 million will be provided for the Pensioner Denture Scheme. This will
result in an additional 5,000 full and partial dentures for pensioners across NSW over
two years. This will significantly reduce waiting times.

Holders of pensioner concession cards, health care cards and Commonwealth seniors’
cards are eligible to receive a free denture or partial denture through this scheme
following a clinical assessment.

There will be a particular focus on reducing waiting times for full and partial dentures in
rural and regional NSW.

Expand the Oral Health Fee for Service Scheme

 A total of 10,000 extra dental vouchers will be provided under the Oral Health Fee for
Service Scheme to eligible people so that they can receive dental care from private
dentists for procedures such as fillings and extractions.

All holders of pensioner concession cards, health care cards, Commonwealth seniors’
cards pensioners, dependents listed on cards and all children under 18 who have been
assessed will be eligible to receive these vouchers.

The voucher can be used for general dental care, dentures and emergency care.

Expand Children’s Dental Services

 An extra $1 million will be provided for additional general anaesthetic procedures at the
Children’s Hospital Westmead, Westmead Centre for Oral Health, Sydney Dental
Hospital and regional centres at Newcastle, Orange, Albury and Wagga.

NSW Labor | Reducing Dental Health Costs For Those In Need | February 2011 4
Provide new dental chairs and equipment

 A $2.5 million funding package to improve public dental infrastructure, with $1.5 million
for the Westmead Centre for Dental Health and Nepean Dental Clinic for new and
replacement dental chairs and equipment; and a further $1 million for building
refurbishment, new and replacement dental chairs and equipment at Kempsey, Maitland
Muswellbrook and Broken Hill.

This package includes 100 dental chairs with 78 replacement chairs and 22 new chairs.
Once these chairs are in place approximately 4,400 additional patient courses of care
will be provided each year.

Continue existing programs to promote good oral health

 We will also continue existing programs including general dental services for eligible
children and adults, the Early Childhood Oral Health Program, Toothsmart, ongoing
implementation of water fluoridation, and culturally appropriate Aboriginal oral health
services through Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisations and Local
Health Networks.

We will add a new oral health section to the Healthy Kids website, a one-stop shop at
www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au which provides resources and information about programs
that promote healthy living. And we will translate basic oral health information into
community languages and develop a curriculum package with the Aboriginal Health
College.

NSW Labor | Reducing Dental Health Costs For Those In Need | February 2011 5
Our Record

LABOR
 Increased the oral health budget from $122.5 million
in 2005/06 to $169.4 million in 2010/11, with
additional funding directed to oral health promotion,
including fluoridation, increased clinical services,
incentives to attract and retain dental clinicians and
increased resources for Aboriginal people, older
people and refugees.
 Improved fluoridation of water supplies through a five
year $17 million infrastructure program, with 95% of
NSW residents now having access to fluoridated
water.
COALITION
 The NSW Liberals and Nationals did not stand up to
John Howard’s abolition of the Commonwealth
Dental Program.
 While the new Federal Labor Government is now
working to overturn Howard’s slash and burn
approach to dental health funding, Tony Abbott and
the Federal Liberal and National parties have
blocked legislation for a new public dental scheme.
These actions have not been opposed by Barry
O’Farrell and the NSW Coalition.

 Introduced the Toothsmart Program to reduce the  To date, Barry O’Farrell has failed to put forward any
impact of oral disease in high risk children, reduce plans or new ideas to improve the affordability of
the need for ongoing dental treatment and improve dental health services in NSW.
oral health for children and families.

 Established the Early Childhood Oral Health

Program to prevent oral health problems in early
childhood, establish good oral health care habits and
ensure heath professionals receive appropriate
training.

 Developed early childhood oral health guidelines for

child health professionals and training packages for
early childhood staff

 Developed new resources encourage parents and

carers to check for any early signs of tooth decay –
this is given to new parents and around 85,000 are
distributed each year.

 Added an oral health section to the Personal Health

Record given to each child, known as “the Blue
Book”.

 Established an Oral Health Promotion Grants

Program which included projects such as “Better
Oral Health for Diabetic Kooris”, “Improving
Aboriginal Family Oral Health” and “Smile Wide with
Pride”

 Established the Priority Oral Health Program to

improve access to public dental health services.

 Over $3 million in capital funding since 2005 to

health services for new equipment, including 22
replacement chairs, 16 autoclaves and 45 sets of
digital x-ray sensors.

 New dental clinics at Gilgandra, Bathurst, Dareton,

Newcastle, Queanbeyan, Tumut, Orange and Royal
North Shore Hospital.

 Major upgrades of dental clinics at Ingleburn, Port

Macquarie, Goulburn, Wyong and Moruya.

 Provided $4 million towards a new dental clinic in

Dubbo in partnership with Charlies Sturt University.

NSW Labor | Reducing Dental Health Costs For Those In Need | February 2011 6
 www.kristinakeneally.com.au

Authorised and printed by Michael Lee, 377 Sussex Street Sydney NSW 2000.